Basic Piano Chords

The most basic piano chords are called major chords. There is another type called minor chords that are also very common. If you learn some basic chords, you will be able to play a lot of things.

First, a basic understanding of chords:

Chords are made up of 3, 4 or more notes. Major chords are made from the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of a major scale. Basically that means you play every other note until you are playing 3 notes.

Here are some of the most common (and easiest to play) piano chords:

Major Chords		Minor Chords
Chord Name	Chord Notes	Chord Name	Chord Notes
C	C E G	Am	A C E
F	F A C	Dm	D F A
G	G B D	Em	E G B
A	A C# E	F#m	F# A C#
D	D F# A	Bm	B D F#
E	E G# B	C#m	C# E G#
Bb	Bb D F	Gm	G Bb D
EB	Eb G Bb	Cm	C Eb G

Here's a quick video on where the chords are on the piano:

With these chords you can play a number of songs. I would recommend looking up the chords for some of the songs you like. If they don't look too complicated try practicing the chords you know with those songs.

If you are not sure what to play exactly, read the page on how to play chords. If you want to move on from basic chords you can start learning how to read chords or understanding chord titles.

If you want to take a course in chords, we recommend Power Piano Chords. It teaches all chords from basics to advanced progressions.

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